Community Policy Institute YEAR IN REVIEW June 2015- May 2016 SIENAcollege
WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY POLICY INSTITUTE? The Community Policy Institute engages students, faculty, staff, and community partners to explore the impact that public policy has on vulnerable populations. CPI partners with associations, networks, and collaboratives to identify research questions and new and changing policy that impact the populations served by their members. The CPI Fellows research public policies and regulations related to these policy questions. By sharing this research with community partners, CPI helps our partners effectively advocate for their member organizations and the clients that they serve. CPI Fellows work in teams with our partners to research a topic or question, identify appropriate deliverable(s), deliver professional quality research to the community partner, and publish the research on our website where is it available publicly. In addition to the specific mission of the initiative, CPI exemplifies the larger ACE mission by providing the fellows personal and professional skills to advocate for social justice and sustainable change. BY THE NUMBERS 3,168.75 hours dedicated to policy research since June 2015 001 year in existence 006 active community partners 007 community partners since inception 086 local policy news stories added to the Policy Options database 019 issue briefs published 004 CPI Fellows in Summer 2015 004 CPI Fellows in Fall 2015 010 CPI Fellows in Spring 2016, including 4 team leaders 018 CPI Fellows since inception 2 003 AmeriCorps VISTA Fellows engaged with CPI services
BUILDING CAPACITY "The development of CPI is a crucial step in building the capacity of the nonprofit organizations in the Capital Region to affect positive change for the community. CPI is designed to leverage the academic resources of Siena including faculty and students to address the policy challenges that face our community today. It not only provides a highimpact learning experience for Siena students, but offers the community the needed policy expertise and analytical insight to confront current and future public policy problems."- Dr. Daniel Lewis, CPI Faculty Fellow 3
RAPID GROWTH The Community Policy Institute (CPI) has experienced rapid and exponential growth since its inception in June 2015. CPI has engaged in substantive projects with seven organizations that have had an impact in the areas of homelessness, food assessment, restorative justice, and afterschool and summer learning program policies. The greatest call for our services has been in the areas of issue brief reports, research presentations, and the development of workshops to discuss and explore issue-based policy options. Community partners have expressed significant satisfaction with the work of the CPI team while a majority of fellows cite their work with CPI as being one of the most transformational experiences of their Siena career. 4
CPI DEVELOPMENTAL MODEL CPI fellows engage in three levels of policy research throughout their time in the program. At the beginning, they work on the PolicyOptions News Bureau, gathering local and state public policy news and process it into short, understandable news digests. This stage is important for new fellows because it introduces them to the policy climate of the Capital Region. Upon mastering the news digest, CPI fellows then research and write individual issue briefs on topics identified as pressing to the Capital Region based on the CPI Issue Map and community feedback. The CPI Issue Map is a map of subtopics within the five Signature ACE Issue Areas that are potential research topics. Once fellows have completed their first issue brief, they are placed in teams to conduct research and create deliverables for a community partner. Fellows work with their project team leaders to meet all deadlines, learn skills to effectively communicate with community partners, successfully manage a project, and conduct effective research. 3 2 1 Conduct policy research for community partners to aid advocacy efforts Research and write policy and model program briefs Policy news and information curation FEATURED FELLOW CPI Fellow Eric Brower '17 has a passion for involving people in the democratic process. In addition to his academic pursuits, he participates in Siena College's Constitutional Convention Initiative where he educates voters between the ages of 18 and 25 through information campaigns and workshops. Brower was recently one of 135 students across the nation selected to participate in the College Debate '16 Conference at Dominican University of California in San Rafael, California. He will use social media to identify key issues young voters care about and create questions for 2016 presidential candidates to address. 5
FOOD ASSESSMENT AND POLICY Partner: Capital Roots MISSION: Reduce the impact of poor nutrition on public health in New York s Capital Region PRESENTING NEED: Identify interdisciplinary approaches to strengthening community wellbeing through building farm capacity, creating economic resilience, and increasing access to healthy food Left to Right: Kayla Rissew '18, Eric Brower '17, Robert DeFillippo, Jr. '17 DELIVERABLES PROVIDED: Issue briefs on farm production incentives, farm production barriers, and demographics of hunger DELIVERABLES PENDING: Issue briefs on SNAP, WIC and FMNP consumers, food processing and preparation, certification opportunities, and potential policy implications with the 2016 Presidential election RESTORATIVE JUSTICE Partners: Mediation Matters and Community Engaged Teaching and Learning (CETL) MISSIONS: Help people handle conflict in constructive ways (Mediation Matters) and connect students' knowledge of academic disciplines to community challenges (CETL) PRESENTING NEED: Identify organizations on the state and local level that practice restorative justice and research best practices Left to Right: Gabrielle Treiling '17, Gordon MacCammon '18, Courtney Tomeny '17 TARGET PARTNERS: Dr. David Karp of Skidmore College, Albany County DA s Office, Rensselaer County Restorative Justice team, and several Siena College Departments DELIVERABLES PROVIDED: Key stakeholders analysis of national and New York practitioners of restorative justice and an issue brief on restorative justice on college campuses 6
AFTERSCHOOL AND SUMMER LEARNING PROGRAMS Partners: New York State Network for Youth Success and ReadyNation MISSIONS: High-quality expanded learning and development opportunities for New York State youth (NY State Network) and building a successful future workforce by supporting policies and practices with an impact on children s health, academic achievement, and readiness for postsecondary education and careers (ReadyNation) Left to Right: Ryan Vyskocil '17, Marlena Mareno '18, Nicolas Favreau '17 PRESENTING NEED: Study the economic effects of afterschool and summer academic enrichment programs for use in advocacy efforts in the New York State Legislature for increased funding for afterschool programs DELIVERABLES PROVIDED: Issue briefs on how afterschool and summer learning programs effect economic development WORKSHOP WEDNESDAYS Partner: CARES Inc., NY MISSION: Create a system of care to prevent and end homelessness PRESENTING NEED: Research focused on providing information through a series of workshops to regional homeless service providers and other interested stakeholders Left to Right: Robert DeFillippo Jr. '17, Megan Grace '16, Gabrielle Treiling '17, Ryan Vyskocil '17 DELIVERABLES PROVIDED: Issue briefs and presentation slides on youth and runaway homelessness, prisoner reentry, sexual offender reentry, and homeless prevention programs DELIVERABLES PENDING: Issue briefs and presentation slides on housing and healthcare, minimum wage increase, and homeless service providers 7
CPI FELLOWS MAJORS & MINORS SPANISH ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE CPI FELLOWS BIOLOGY SPORTS ADMINISTRATION ECONOMICS HISTORY PRE-LAW COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT FRENCH CPI has engaged a total of 10 students representing four majors and 11 minors/certificates from the Siena College School of Liberal Arts, School of Business and School of Science. CPI Fellows study a variety of disciplines and are also involved in numerous extracurricular activities. 9:9 Overall women to men ratio 5:5 Current women to men ratio 50% Enrolled in the pre-law certificate 80% Majoring in political science 8
CPI ORIENTATION CPI Fellows participate in two orientations during the academic year that equip them with the knowledge and tools they need to be successful. As CPI Fellows enter the program throughout the academic year, they will gain an understanding of ACE and CPI through these orientations. During each orientation, CPI Fellows participate in integrated ACE workshops that include opportunities for discussions and reflection. The workshops cover a range of topics including: team building, the history of ACE and CPI, social justice, current events, diversity, the impact of public policy, technology, project management, and professional expectations. Both CPI orientations incorporate a great deal of team building and direct service experience. 9
ACADEMIC INTEGRATION By the end of their first year, CPI Fellows are required to complete the POSC 265 Public Policy course to develop a foundational understanding of public policy. Under the guidance of CPI Faculty Fellow Dr. Daniel Lewis, students develop and enhance the skills necessary to succeed in the CPI Program. Using a broad conception of public policy as actions to address problems faced by the public, this course examines the outputs and decision-making processes of government and nonprofit organizations at the local, state, and national levels, and introduces students to foundational theories and concepts of public policy. In addition, students conduct public policy analysis and evaluation while building skills necessary for careers in public policy, public administration, community development, and politics. Dr. Dan Lewis I find that continual relationships with community partners is by far the most educational aspect of this fellowship. Working alongside experts in a given policy area provides backdoor advocacy and policy information that can be obtained nowhere else. Ryan Vyskocil 17, Founding CPI Fellow FACULTY ENGAGEMENT CPI actively works to engage new faculty in the program. Faculty invite CPI fellows into their classes to present on the Community Policy Institute and nominate competitive candidates to the program each semester. In the past year, CPI fellows have delivered presentations to 33 classrooms to spread the word about CPI. The CPI program allows students to connect their academic experiences including research, writing, presentation, and communication skills to analyze real world policy, and its implications. 10
ADMINISTRATIVE TEAMS CPI Fellows not only research policy topics for community partners, but also assume many of the operational responsibilities required to run a yearround think tank. CPI Fellows have particular roles based on their interests and are responsible for campus and community outreach, impact assessment, social media development, academic integration, editing and maintaining the PolicyOptions Database, and recruitment. RESEARCH TEAMS CPI Fellows are split into groups of three or four students and are tasked with different research projects. Each team is assigned to a specific nonprofit community partner and led by a project team leader who is, minimally, a third semester CPI Fellow. CPI teams work closely together for an entire semester, meeting twice a week during class and office hours. 11
LEADERSHIP TEAM Dan Lewis, Ph.D., CPI Faculty Fellow Emma Bettiol '15, CPI Program Coordinator, AmeriCorps *VISTA Fellow Jerry DeFrancisco, ACE Civic Leader in Residence Allison J. Schultz, Director of Programs, ACE Paul W. Thurston, Ph.D., Director of Academic Integration, ACE DEVELOPED BY Emma Bettiol '15, Coordinator of CPI, AmeriCorps VISTA Fellow Allison J. Schultz, Director of Programs, ACE Jennifer Hunt, Graphic Designer CPI IS GENEROUSLY FUNDED BY The Review Foundation and the Corella and Bertram F. Bonner Foundation SIENAcollege Center for Academic Community Engagement SIENA.EDU/ACE/CPI 12